Auto box problems!!!!!!!!!

[FLORADAEDD]

Hi as some of you know i bought a 1999 3200 atuo that had been garaged for a couple of years, The car is now running, tax & tested and i use for short runs just to make sure all is well before i travel further. Yesterday after a short run i selected reverse and the car moved but it felt as if the clutch was slipping. I managed to get it into the garage and had a look to check there were no burst pipes/looses conection and all seemed well. If you select reverse on a level it works better but select it on a incline and the car struggles. The only work i have done connected with the box is replace a leaking gearbox cooler pipe and refill with correct oil (dextron 3). Has anyone any ideas???? On sat i will put on a garage lift ramp and check the gearbox level.: Thanks in advance Edd.

 

[conaero]

Wish I could help but I have no knowledge of Autos.

Dont they have bands/drive belts? Sounds like they are slipping?

 

[davy83]

I presume it goes ok forwards and the problem is only in reverse?

How long has it been sitting doing nothing? and was it in park or some other position while parked?

I have not got into the guts of my auto box yet (and hope never to!) but on previous cars i know there is a small diameter clutch on both the forward and reverse drives which is used to switch the box from forward to reverse. It is not a slipping clutch assembly like in a manual car, but an on off kind of a deal. These can wear out making the car go forwards and not back, or visa versa.

I remember on an old Jag i had this failed and it was not easy to get repaired i ended up replacing the gearbox.

 

[conaero]

Sounds promising Davy.

 

[Paco]

Sounds like a slipping band, not sure which ZF box it is but I think when they go they go. There are lots of autobox specialists out there which are worth a call - I see Eurospares charge £1100 a go for a used one, cripes!

 

[safrane]

There is a second hand Auto Box on the Maserati Cub UK site if the worse is discovered...£600

 

[conaero]

Dave Askew will have a garage full of them, so I am sure he will do it for sensible money.

 

[Parisien]

Dave Askew will have a garage full of them, so I am sure he will do it for sensible money.

Good idea Conaero.....hope you get it sorted and not for a Berlusconi ransom!


P

 

[FLORADAEDD]

Hi yes the car was parked park. It worked OK at 1st. Forward is working fine, well at least i think it is, i havnt been on a long enough run yet to give it a good try. Any idea if it is OK to still use the car or will it doing more damage??

 

[dem maser]

well im not very clued up with mechanics so wait till another member answers that, id say if it works then drive it for now till you get it replaced

 

[davy83]

AS far as I know if its just the reverse clutch gone then it will only get worse when you are in reverse, so reverse will progressively disappear, until it wont go backwards at al, so you can drive it as long as you dont reverse!!!

although my general thought in these cases is if in doubt don't drive it just in case, you are doing some more serious damage.

 

[FLORADAEDD]

Hi just a up-date on the reverse problems, I have used the car a few times and reverse has worked FINE!!! Its a little slow to engage reverse but has worked fine, i think i will take the advise and use it until it gets too bad or the winter comes and i will take it off the road and get it sorted. I got in touch with JCT600 in Leeds as they were the last people to work on the car just to ask for copies of any additional work that had been done and i was informed that it needs to go the Bradford workshop to have some work on the steering rack due to a recall. They will need the car for 2-3 days so im trying to sort a trailer out so i can take it down to have the work carried out as i cant wait around Bradford for 3 days!! Has anyone had the re-call done on there car and what do they do/change. Ed